CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was like stepping onto a movie set.
As lake effect snow belted down on Cleveland Thursday night, those in attendance for the Browns’ 24-19 win over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers were treated to some quintessential AFC North football.
And in a difficult season, it was an extra treat for Browns players and their fans as they thrived in the elements against a division foe that was rolling, having won five straight coming onto their home turf.
“I thought I was in ‘Polar Express’ or something,” safety Grant Delpit said. “I never played in anything like that, so I had to get a win in my first snow game.”
While cold and rainy weather with feels-like temps in the 20s were expected for the prime time showdown, no one predicted the near-whiteout conditions that popped up in the third quarter.
As the second half wore on, the Brownie logo painted at midfield was covered up completely by a blanket of snow. Groundskeepers worked with shovels and brooms to clear the yard lines in between the breaks in game action.
“I stopped looking at the pictures on the sideline just because you couldn’t tell,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “But yeah, our guys love playing under the lights. They love playing in front of these fans. Add the snow element, it was pretty cool.
“The snow globe, it’s a special night for our fans and I think they deserve it.”
Even if you were watching at home, as the flakes grew, it became difficult to see what was going on in the broadcast, with cameras struggling to get a clear picture of the action.
Most of the Browns players that spoke after the game struggled to find a comparison for this particular contest.
Several brought up the sub-zero temperatures they faced at home two seasons ago, in a Christmas Eve loss to the Saints — but that wasn’t about snow, as much as it was the cold.
Cleveland Browns grounds crew clear snow off the yard lines as snow falls during the second half during Thursday Night Football. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Veteran safety Rodney McLeod, in year 13, had never played in a true snow game before Thursday, he said.
Neither had cornerback Greg Newsome II, a Chicago native who attended Northwestern.
“I was just telling Cam (Mitchell) on the sideline, I was like, ‘Man, this is games you live for,” Newsome said. “But at the same time, when you’re watching as a little kid, you’ll be like, dang, it’s cold out there. But actually being a part of it and seeing how difficult it is to kind of move in those elements — it was fun for us though.”
Receiver Elijah Moore, a south Florida native who never saw snow until he was in college, soaked in the moment too.
“I was trying to stay locked in, but I was kind of just appreciative,” he said. “I think it was so beautiful, to be honest. I thought it was super cool to play in.
“It felt like it was exactly the games I used to watch on TV.”
Even left guard Joel Bitonio, the longest-tenured member of the Browns in his 11th year in Cleveland, had never gotten a chance to play in a snow game like this one before.
“We’ve had some cold games and some snow games, but nothing like this,” Bitonio said. “So that was a first, but it was typical what you expect. Momentum swung both ways and then whoever kind of had the ball last had a chance to go score and we gave them a little bit of time, but our defense stepped up and got a win. But that’s what I think of when I think of AFC North football.”
As Bitonio alluded to, the Browns had to battle the Steelers and the elements to pull out a win in this one.
While they had an 18-6 lead with 12:16 left to play after Jameis Winston tumbled into the end zone, the Steelers got back into it forcing a fumble, grabbing an interception, and scoring two TDs of their own to take a narrow 19-18 lead.
But the Browns responded, getting the ball back with 3:22 to play and going on a nine-play, 44-yard drive that ended with a Nick Chubb 2-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds remaining. The defense held down the fort from there to secure the win, batting down Steelers QB Russell Wilson’s final Hail Mary attempt as time expired.
Fans threw celebratory snowballs down onto the field as players dove onto the ground and made snow angels. Winston exited the Browns locker room, going to his postgame interview on the Amazon broadcast set, singing a rendition of “Jingle Bells.”
While the impromptu snowstorm was unexpected, it helped the game live up to the hype, despite the Browns’ subpar 3-8 record.
“Rivalry. Thursday night. We’re the only show in town and it starts pouring down with the snow,” star edge rusher Myles Garrett said. “You can’t ask for a more classical one to watch in the morning in about 20 years. So, this was a fun one. We got to take this momentum and carry it to the next one. I don’t care what the record is. We got a lot to fight for.”
Throw this Browns-Steelers classic into the ring with other hit releases “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” this weekend.
For Browns fans, it too, is sure to become just as instant of a classic.
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